I Am a Researcher

What has been the most exciting/interesting thing you've discovered through your research?

Working with naturalistic data instead of data from a controlled lab setting has taught me how much context shapes everything: what we can measure, what we miss, and what our findings actually mean. It's made me realize that a lot of the meaning in real-world data actually lives in the "messiness," the parts you'd usually try to clean away. That shift in how I think about data has been the most exciting part for me.

What did you gain from this program/experience?

Through the Chiba Lab and UC Scholars, I've picked up so many research skills, and UC Scholars especially exposed me to fields and people I wouldn't have crossed paths with otherwise. But honestly, the biggest thing I've gotten is people. Some of my closest friends came out of this. Research is collaborative at its core, whether that's building a project together, presenting and hearing about each other's work, or just having conversations. Research at UCSD has finally given me the chance to be surrounded by people who are as curious and cross-disciplinary as I've always wanted to be.

What advice would you give to students starting research?

Don't be scared of not knowing something. It's easier said than done, but research is learning, and part of the fun is sitting with what you don't know and trying to figure it out. Ask questions, read, learn to think alongside other people. Not knowing something is never something to be ashamed of, it's an opportunity.

What are your future plans?

I want to keep going deeper into computational approaches to physiological and neural signal processing and human-centered sensing, and I hope to do research in industry focused on neurotech or wearables. I'm still figuring out exactly what's next, but I know I want to develop technology that makes human experience more measurable and understandable, especially for people and communities who are usually left out of how these tools get designed.